Gung ho over 1 cr Zimbabwean dollar cheque fizzles

Mandsaur, MP, May 10 (UNI) The euphoria of Pashupatinath temple's management due to a cheque worth one crore dollar found in the donation box fizzled when they realised that it was of Zimbabwean dollar and not US dollar.

Earlier, the cheque was mistaken in US dollar and hence, its cost in Indian currency was estimated as Rs 40 crore.

Later, local State Bank of Indore(SBI) Managing Director Vijay Sahastrabuddhe, who gathered information about the cheque from Mumbai-based Forex Treasury, revealed that due to the collapsed economy in Zimbabwe, one US dollar is equal to 19,09,10,632 Zimbabwean dollar. In this way, the real value of the Bank of Zimbabwe's one crore Zimbabwean dollar cheque in Indian Rupee surprisingly becomes only Rs 2.26.

''A total of Rs 4,000 are required for the clearance of this cheque and many rupees had been already spent in phone bill and other funds for its verification process,'' he said.

Temple Management Committee members had given the bearer cheque to the local SBI and later it was sent to Indore for further verification.

Besides about Rs 1.75 lakh in cash, few Bahraini Dinars, a Hong Kong currency for 20 dollars and currency of few other countries were also found in the collection box. The temple located in opium belt in western Madhya Pradesh is frequented by non-resident Indians.

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